Saturday, August 29th, 5pm – Dameron Powell — Henry Hung, trumpet; Kasey Knudsen, saxophone; John Wiitala, bass; Lorca Hart, drums. Sneak date! Secret! Shhhh! Just come. The brilliant compositions of two jazz masters, pianists both. But not a pianist in sight on this engagement. Bring your posse! Enjoy some brilliant jazz. $20 cover. Students $10.

 

 

 

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Saturday, August 29th, 7:30pm: Angel Adedokun — Angel Adedokun, vocals; Jelani Noble, keys; Chanelle Ignant, guitar; Michael Reed, drums. $20 cover. Students $10.  A bilingual, multi-genre artist known for her ethereal vocals and raw, confessional songwriting, Angel blends rock, jazz, salsa, cumbia, pop, soul, and funk, brings two sets of powerful music to the stage.

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August 30th, 5pm (the happy hour show): Jam session hosted by the Vince Lateano Trio — Ben Stolorow, piano; tbd, bass; Vince Lateano, drums. It’s Happy Hour. Stay for a tune, stay for a set, stay for two sets. Contribute what you can, contribute what you will! No pressure. Bring your axe, and bring your ears!

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August 30th, 8pm: Simon Aks Quartet — Simon Aks, guitar; Kevin Person, Jr., piano; Alan Jones, bass; Miles Turk, drums. $20 cover. Students $10. Simon Aks, a RASOTA alum, finishes out his summer vacation with this quartet date at the bookshop. Then it’s back east to continue his pursuit of a degree in…Jazz!

 

 

Welcome to Bird & Beckett for more Jazz in the Bookshop! We’ve been doing it for 26 years, and with  your support we’re going strong. BYOB and a couple of friends and a twenty each for the band. A tenner if yr a student!

Some notes on this week’s shows:

Dameron Powell (Saturday at 5pm), the brain child of trumpeter Henry Hung, celebrates the incomparable music of Tadd Dameron and Bud Powell, pianists who pioneered the melodic and harmonic concepts of the music of the 1940s that would later be called Bebop, or as they called it, “modern music.”  Dameron Powell finds new avenues with the music of Tadd Dameron and Bud Powell by keeping the piano chair vacant–reimagining what their compositions can be. Kasey Knudsen, saxophone; John Wiitala, bass; and Lorca Hart, drums are absolutely top drawer jazz musicians, spanning three generations. With Henry, all are key players on the local jazz scene.

Vocalist Angel Adedokun (Saturday at 7:30pm) is a powerful vocalist in Spanish and English, deep into musical theatre, choreography and teaching. Born and raised in Indianapolis, at age 17 Angel joined and worked with the Latin company MundoBeat Entertainment (Grupo Tumbao, Trio Con Paz, Almagama) and was featured as lead singer of the Salsa band Grupo Bembe under the name, Angelita. During this time, Angel performed the songs of Hector Lavoe, Celia Cruz, La Lupe, Juan Luis Guerra, Joe Arroyo, El Gran Combo, and many more. As a bilingual, multi-genre artist known for her ethereal vocals and raw, confessional songwriting, Angel blends rock, jazz, salsa, cumbia, pop, soul, and funk. Her dance and choreography embraces Salsa, Plena, Bhangra, and Hip Hop; she has choreographed “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and “Caroline or Change” with Ray of Light Theatre, and has served as choreographer for Peaches Christ Productions. As an educator, she uses her talents to bring out the unique and artistic gifts of her students, conducting musical workshops with Bay Area Children’s Theatre and serving as Casting Manager at Ray of Light Theatre; and she is Director at Tomorrow Youth Repertory, performer at Bay Area Children’s Theatre, and Education Director/co-founder for Yeah, Art! in Oakland. She came to the Bay Areas in 2015, released her debut EP in 2020 and is working on a new album, “Love Letters to a Black Seed.” Brief bios of her bandmates, Jelani Noble, keys; Chanelle Ignant, guitar; Michael Reed, drums can be found on our calendar at this link.

Drummer Vince Lateano, with his trio, hosts a monthly month jam session (Sunday at 5pm). All working, aspiring and retired jazz musicians, whether professional or amateur, are welcome. Just be ready to call a tune and rise to the occasion. Vince has been an important player on the San Francisco jazz scene since 1965. He’s played all the clubs here in the decades since, toured extensively in his early years, led the house band at Jazz at Pearl’s when that North Beach club was by all accounts the key jazz venue in San Francisco from 1990 to 2003. That’s Vince at the drum kit at the right in the photo below, John Wiitala on bass and Bruce Forman on guitar. Vince has led legendary and long-running jam sessions in San Francisco for decades, including sessions at Pier 23, Dogpatch Saloon, 7 Mile House, Sweetie’s Art Bar and, of course, Bird & Beckett. He’s a genial, generous and good humored host with a font of jazz experience and knowledge. You’d do well to come, play and enjoy the music! No cover charge, but do throw five or ten or twenty bucks in the bucket to help us pay the trio!

And lastly, the young lions roar and wail… The Simon Aks Quartet (Sunday at 8pm) comprises Simon on guitar, Kevin Person, Jr. on piano, Alan Jones on bass and Miles Turk on drums. Catch ’em while they’re hot! All of ’em in their early twenties, all of ’em brilliant and in demand! A great quartet to close out another fabulous weekend of jazz in the bookshop! All of it can be caught live and in person here in Glen Park, or experienced remotely through our live stream, found on our YouTube channel and Facebook page. Digging our live streams? Consider becoming a donor to the BBCLP to help us pull that off. It’s no small thing in terms of effort and expense, and little supported by the viewers. Jazz musician? You keep your money in your pocket! We’ll endeavor to pay you adequately when you play here. But you’re not exactly riding high when you’re just gigging for a living. God love ya!